Police: 2nd Powell email described what to do with money, possessions

Josh Powell used two five-gallon cans of gas to destroy his home and kill himself and his two sons on Sunday, the Pierce County Sheriff’s Office said Monday.

That and other new details came to light during a police news conference Monday afternoon, as police continued to investigate the scene and talk to people who Powell contacted prior to what police are calling a murder-suicide.

Sheriff’s Office Spokesman Ed Troyer said accelerants were spread throughout the home and that 10 gallons of gas “would easily take care of that house.”

Minutes before the explosion, Powell sent an email to his attorney, which said, “I’m sorry. Goodbye.” Troyer said Powell also sent a longer email to his pastor and family members that described what to do with his money and possessions. Troyer said that email showed Powell had planned the explosion.

• Interview with Chuck and Judy Cox
• Slideshow: House destroyed in violent explosion
• Slideshow: Memorial, vigil for slain boys
• Slideshow: Powell family photos
•  Raw video: Helicopter footage of explosion scene
• Video: 'A terrible act of murder'
• Raw video: Neighbors record fire at Powell home
• Video: 'We will never get answers'
• Video: State will conduct review
• Video: Students morn Powell children
  

“This is definitely a deliberately, planned-out event,” Troyer said.

Police said they also came to that conclusion based on donations of books and toys Powell had made to the Goodwill over the weekend.

Nothing has been found yet that sheds any new light on Powell’s wife, Susan Cox Powell, who disappeared in Utah two years ago.

Social worker locked out before explosion

Investigators are calling what Josh Powell did Sunday afternoon a "terrible act of murder."

It started with a Child Protective Services worker bringing 7-year-old Charles and 5-year-old Braden to Powell's house for a pre-arranged, supervised visit.

The Sheriff's Office said Powell let his kids inside the house and then locked the door on the woman. 

She'd gone back to her car to call her supervisor, and report that she'd smelled gasoline, when the house exploded in a ball of fire at about 12:15 p.m.

Authorities believe Powell doused his home with gasoline and lit it on fire when the two boys came in.

Police said Powell One neighbor said debris from the roof and insulation from inside were scattered around the yard.

At 12:05 p.m. Powell had sent his attorney, Jeffrey Bassett,  a short e-mail, which said, "I'm sorry. Goodbye."  Shortly after that the house exploded in a ball of fire.

Bassett said he didn't see the email until two hours later, when others told him Powell and the boys had been killed.  He said he knew Powell was upset after being ordered to undergo a psycho-sexual evaluation recently, but he didn't see such a violent act coming.

Powell in voicemail: 'I'm not able to go on'

Overnight, the Salt Lake Tribune published online final messages from Josh Powell to his cousin, Nathan Leach, sent through Google.

One is a transcript of a voicemail.  In it, Powell says, "I guess I'm calling to say goodbye.  I'm not able to go on anymore."  And "I'm sorry to everyone I've heard (sic).”

The cousin says he called 911 from Texas to get authorities over to Powell's home in Graham.  In less than two hours, he saw pictures of the destroyed house.

Cox family speaks out

Chuck Cox, Susan Cox Powell's father and grandfather to the two boys, said that while he thought everyone did what they were supposed to do under the law, he wished the supervised visit had been at a neutral location, instead of Powell’s home. He said the boys were playing before it came time for them to visit their father.

“They were having a good time and didn’t want to stop and see daddy,” Cox said. “They seemed to be losing interest in going to see him. They liked it here.”

The kids were living with Cox and his wife, Judy Cox, after a court order last year.

Chuck's wife, Judy Cox, said she talked the boys into going to Powell’s home Sunday, a fateful decision she said she regrets.

“Yeah, because look what happened,” she said. “But I knew that they’re supposed to be able to see their dad.”

More: www.kirotv.com/news/news/crime-law/chuck-cox-too-many-warning-signs-regarding-josh-po/nHWNk/

Next: Investigation continues, memorials planned

KIRO 7 Eyewitness News asked Troyer if the state could have done any more to protect the boys.

“They had a social worker drop the boys off, to supervise them, just like was planned, just like the court ordered, but if you have someone who's hell bent on doing what he's going to do, which is double homicide of the two boys, there’s not a lot you can do to stop them,” said Troyer.

With investigators focused on the home in Graham, counselors and administrators at Carson Elementary School in Puyallup, where one of Powell's boys went to school and the other was enrolled to start kindergarten next fall, are going to be focused on grieving students.

A crisis team will be at the school on Monday, as students and staff come to terms with the deaths of Charlie and Braden Powell.

A memorial of flowers and candles started just a few hours after news spread that they'd been killed.

On Sunday night, dozens of people gathered to pay tribute with a vigil for the boys.

Many of the people in the crowd were parents and classmates of the Powells.  Another vigil is planned for Monday night from 5:30 - 7:30 p.m. at McKinley Park directly across the freeway from the Tacoma Dome, at  907 Upper Park Street.

The Puyallup School District released the following statement in response to the deaths.

While the community here grieved, KIRO 7 interviewed the attorney for the Cox family, the family of Susan Powell.

Attorney Steve Downing said the boys had recently started talking more about the day their mother disappeared.

He said, according to the boys, "They had gone camping and their mother had been in the trunk; and then later, their mom and dad walked out into the desert and mommy got lost."